• Viewpoint
    JordanUS Foreign Policy

    An Existential Oval Office Moment for Jordan—and All Arabs

    Feb 14, 2025Rami G. Khouri

    The scene in the White House on February 11 was startling. King Abdullah II of Jordan listened to President Donald Trump ramble on about how the United States …

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Gaza War and the Future of Democracy in the United States and Israel

    Feb 14, 2025Daniel Brumberg

    In a way that few could have predicted a few short weeks ago, the fate of democracy in the United States (and in some ways Israel) has now been irrevocably tie…

  • Viewpoint
    US Foreign Policy

    Trump’s First Three Weeks in Office: Signs of Disruption and Chaos

    Feb 13, 2025Khalil E. Jahshan

    In his first few weeks back in office, Donald J. Trump delivered his characteristic ‘shock and confusion’ tactics by unleashing dozens of draconian and vindict…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Second-Term Foreign Policy: Highly Centralized, and Highly Personal

    Feb 12, 2025Charles W. Dunne

    The late US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld once famously explained his taxonomy of information in typically gnomic terms. “There are known knowns,” he sa…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy

    Trump II and American-Gulf Relations

    Donald Trump re-entered the White House on January 20 as the first president to serve a non-consecutive second term since Grover Cleveland in 1893. Any expecta…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanUS Foreign Policy

    For Jordan, Trump’s Latest Pronouncements Threaten an Existential Disaster

    Feb 7, 2025Curtis Ryan

    With US President Donald Trump pushing Jordan to permanently resettle Palestinians from Gaza, the Hashemite Kingdom once again faces a crisis that is nothing s…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Drama, Delusion, and Dangers of Trump’s Gaza Plan

    Feb 6, 2025Rami G. Khouri

    Donald Trump displayed his usual combination of disruption and delusion with his proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip after displacing its Palestini…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Trump’s Executive Orders and Actions Upend Policies at Home and Abroad

    President Donald Trump’s first two weeks in office were marked by his signing of a dizzying array of executive orders, both to fulfill his campaign pledges and…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Out With the Old, In With the New: Is There a New Hope for Lebanon?

    Feb 6, 2025Patricia Karam

    Following a surprising appointment as Lebanon’s new prime minister, independent jurist, academic, and former diplomat Nawaf Salam, finds himself enmeshed in th…

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Revolutionary Legitimacy in Syria: Sharaa as President

    Feb 4, 2025Radwan Ziadeh

    In all transitional periods, it is important to move quickly from revolutionary legitimacy to representative legitimacy, which Syria’s new authorities did by a…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    The Slowdown in Enforcing International Law

    Jan 29, 2025Jonathan Kuttab

    International law has helped govern the behavior of states for hundreds of years. Early principles like the prohibition on poisoning wells (rooted in just war …

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Liberation from the “Human Slaughterhouse”: A Dark History of Imprisonment in Syria

    Jan 28, 2025Yara M. Asi

    Assad's regime imprisoned more than 150,000 people, including some 5,000 children. Multiple reports have emerged of horrific torture, neglect, and murder insid…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza

    The Estimated Cost of the Gaza War on the Israeli Economy

    Jan 27, 2025Mtanes Shihadeh

    More than a year after the Hamas attack on the towns of the so-called Gaza envelope, it has become clear that the economic and financial cost of Israel’s genoc…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Trump Will Not Stop Israel from Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

    Jan 24, 2025Daniel Brumberg

    Several observers of the Middle East have suggested that President Donald Trump’s “transactional” instincts could impel him to push for a wider Palestinian-Isr…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Regime Change in Syria and Stabilization: The Limits of Turkey’s Unilateral Action

    Jan 24, 2025Salim Çevik

    Turkey has played a pivotal role in Syria’s conflict, significantly shaping the trajectory of opposition groups, particularly Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). With…

  • Intern Corner
    EgyptMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Egypt’s Policies and Rhetoric Target Sudanese Refugees

    Jan 24, 2025Ingie Gohar

    The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shows no signs of abating since its outbreak in April 2023. The violence has persi…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Egypt Remains Cool to the New Syrian Government

    The Egyptian regime of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi looks upon the recent developments in Syria with a good deal of trepidation. That the Islamist rebel armed group, H…

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    A Blind Spot in Post-Assad Syria: The Fate of State Archival Records

    Jan 21, 2025Marwa Daoudy Noureddine Jebnoun

    The fall of the Assad regime has highlighted a crucial but often overlooked issue: the fate of Syria’s state archives. Former officials have left behind millio…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Incoherent Ceasefire Deal in Gaza Guaranteed to Fail

    Jan 21, 2025Khalil E. Jahshan

    After fifteen months of brutal military hostilities in the Gaza Strip, Hamas and Israel finally announced their acceptance of a multi-phased and gradual ceasef…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Political Change and the Fate of Syria’s Refugees Around the World

    Jan 16, 2025Heba Gowayed

    On December 8, the Syrian armed resistance group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) brought the Assad regime to an abrupt end after more than 54 years of brutal rule.…

  • Viewpoint
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    The Emergence of Lebanon’s Third Republic

    Jan 16, 2025Imad K. Harb

    The election on January 9, 2025, of the Lebanese Army Commander Joseph Aoun as the fourteenth president of Lebanon can very well be the inauguration of the Leb…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab World

    How Will 2025 Be Different in the Middle East? Perspectives on the New Year

    The monumental events that took place in the Middle East in 2024 augur radical changes in the region’s geopolitical environment. Israel’s ongoing genocidal war…

  • Policy Analysis
    OmanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Syrian Regime Change: The View from Oman

    Jan 9, 2025Giorgio Cafiero

    The abrupt end of 61 years of Baathist rule in Syria on December 8 caught the Gulf states by surprise. Both governments and citizens of the Gulf Cooperation Co…

  • Intern Corner
    Palestine/IsraelProtests and Activism

    The Ongoing Suppression of Pro-Palestinian Advocacy in the United States

    Jan 8, 2025Selma Karame

    On October 15, 2024, the United States and Canada jointly announced terrorist sanctions against the Vancouver-based NGO Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarit…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonDemocracy and Governance

    Lebanon’s Post-Hezbollah “Day After”

    Jan 7, 2025Patricia Karam

    The surprising fall of the brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria on the heel of Hezbollah’s spectacular losses and, with it, the tremendous weakening of Ir…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Lebanon’s Health System: Decades of Struggle and a Year of Israeli Attacks

    Jan 2, 2025Yara M. Asi

    On September 17 and 18, 2024, a coordinated Israeli attack turned pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon into explosive devices, killing at least 42 people and i…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaUS Foreign Policy

    Damascus Falls, and So Does US Policy

    Jan 2, 2025Charles W. Dunne

    With a presidential transition imminent, US policy on Syria, not to mention the broader Middle East, is in limbo.

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Israel, Syria, and International Law

    Dec 26, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria has provided Israel with yet more opportunities to brazenly tear apart the fabric of international legal norms, f…

  • Intern Corner
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Rebuilding and Strengthening Syria’s State Institutions

    Dec 23, 2024Nour Taha

    Nour Taha discusses the need for reviving and strengthening state institutions in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime, stating that they are necessary…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey and the Transition to a Post-Assad Regime in Syria

    Dec 20, 2024Salim Çevik

    Turkey's intervention in Syria and its approach to the post-Assad era reflects a complex interplay of short and long-term objectives shaped by domestic politic…

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Syria’s Kurds Facing Dangerous Headwinds

    The rapid collapse of the Assad regime by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters has put Syrian Kurds of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and their autonomous …

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Deciphering the Quick Collapse of the Assad Regime

    Dec 17, 2024Radwan Ziadeh

    Many western media outlets have speculated about the quick collapse of the Syrian regime and its military and security services in their battle against a coali…

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Will Assad’s Fall Give Iran’s Reformists a New Lease on Life?

    Dec 11, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    For Iran, the fall of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and what was left of his regime—together with Moscow’s decision to throw its leading Middle East ally to the wind…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Recalibrating US Engagement in Yemen Under a New Trump Administration

    Dec 11, 2024Afrah Nasser

    The military escalation between the United States and the Iran-backed Houthi movement in Yemen has significant implications for Yemen’s future. As the Houthis …

  • Viewpoint
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    A New Syria is Born: Hopes and Challenges

    Dec 11, 2024Marwa Daoudy

    December 8, 2024, marked a historic turning point in Syria and the Middle East region—a day when the Syrian people achieved what had seemed unattainable: the t…

  • Viewpoint
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Israel’s Violations of the Ceasefire with Hezbollah Threaten to Undo It

    Dec 10, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon on November 27 was a welcome development after 14 months of skirmishes between the Israeli Army and …

  • Policy Analysis
    SyriaDemocracy and Governance

    Implications of Assad’s Fall for Syria and the Region

    The fall of Damascus marked the end of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, who inherited the presidency from his father Hafez al-Assad in 2000.

  • Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Trump and Company Return to the Folly of “Maximum Pressure” on Iran

    Dec 5, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    When it comes to US Iran policy, simple yet profound realities merit repeating. One of these is that economic sanctions are a tactic, not a strategy. Indeed, u…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah’s Likely Demise and Lebanon’s Uncertain Future

    Dec 4, 2024Patricia Karam

    Israel's approval of a US-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah set the stage for an end to fourteen months of fighting between the two parties, ushering in the po…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Election and Future of Turkish-American Relations

    Dec 4, 2024Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed clear satisfaction with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, quickly congratulating…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide

    Motivations for Israel’s Unprecedented Destruction of Palestinian Lives

    Dec 2, 2024Daoud Kuttab

    For over a year, a systematic and unprecedented Israeli campaign of death, injury, and ruin of entire communities has been taking place in Gaza, and in recent …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    UNRWA Closure as Prelude to the Elimination of Palestinians’ Right of Return

    Dec 2, 2024Mtanes Shihadeh

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 by a UN General Assembly resolution. Its mai…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    Trump Is Back: What Does It Mean for Oil and US-Gulf Relations?

    Nov 27, 2024Jim Krane

    President-elect Donald Trump has made clear his fondness for fossil fuels, a fondness that was reciprocated by many in the industry. Expectations are high. But…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu: A Long Time Coming

    Nov 27, 2024Susan M. Akram John B. Quigley

    The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and intentional attacks against civilians and the crimes …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Gaza and Lebanon: No Distinction Between Civilian and Military Targets

    Nov 22, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    One of the consequences of the present Israeli war on Gaza has been the blatant erosion of respect for and belief in international legal principles and institu…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Security Dimensions of the Saudi-Iranian Détente

    Nov 21, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    The Saudi-Iranian renormalization deal, signed in Beijing on March 10, 2023, has led to a significant reduction in friction between Riyadh and Tehran. Even as …

  • Viewpoint
    US Foreign Policy

    A Preview of Trump’s National Security Team

    Nov 19, 2024Ethan Mayer-Rich

    Just two weeks have passed since President-elect Donald Trump won the election, and his new administration is already taking shape. Trump’s selections for his …

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Foreign Policy in the Second Trump Administration Takes Shape 

    Nov 19, 2024Nabeel A. Khoury

    The foundations of President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy are now taking shape. He has nominated Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), as secretary of state, form…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Saudi Arabia and Trump: Expectations and Challenges Ahead

    Nov 14, 2024The Unit for Political Studies

    On November 5, former President Donald Trump successfully reclaimed the White House, achieving a decisive victory over his Democratic opponent, Vice President …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    GCC States Seek Diplomacy During US Absence

    The expansion and partial regionalization of what is already the longest and deadliest conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian arena since 1948 presents the Gulf A…

  • Viewpoint
    US Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Middle East Team Will Have to Deal with His Unpredictability and Narcissism

    Nov 8, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    It is very hard to predict the foreign policy that president-elect Donald Trump will pursue because he is deeply and pathologically unpredictable. On both the …

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Commentary: Why Trump Won

    The election of former President Donald Trump after losing the 2020 round to President Joe Biden is likely to go down in the annals of American history as a mo…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Intent to Destroy: Documenting a Year of Israel’s Attacks on Health in Gaza

    Nov 7, 2024Yara M. Asi

    After a year of unfathomable images, videos, and testimonies from Gaza, the story of 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou still managed to shock the world. On October 1…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    A Second Trump Administration: Potential Policy Toward the Middle East

    Nov 5, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    The November 5 presidential election is likely to have major implications for US foreign policy, as it pits a centrist and robust internationalist candidate (V…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Girding for Post-Election Violence if Trump Loses

    Many Americans are worried that if former President Donald Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, he and his Make American Gre…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The New Occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories

    Oct 31, 2024Mohanad Mustafa

    Israel’s concept for the “day after” in Gaza is becoming clearer as its war on the Strip continues into its second year. In fact, the features of this plan beg…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    Harris and the Arab-American Vote: Election Day Approaches

    Oct 31, 2024Ethan Mayer-Rich

    The continued peripheralization of Arab-American voices has made it clear that to Harris and her campaign, just as Palestinian lives may not matter as much as …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Raison d’État, Germany, and the Israeli War on Gaza

    Oct 29, 2024Isabel Ruck

    On October 10, 2024, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gave a speech that revived the debate around Staatsräson, or raison d’état (reason of state), as…

  • Research Paper
    Palestine/Israel

    Israel’s Shifting Policies Toward the West Bank

    Oct 25, 2024Mtanes Shihadeh

    This position paper examines the Israeli government’s policies and objectives vis-à-vis the West Bank since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Important Conclusions from Israel’s Wars on Palestine and Lebanon

    Oct 25, 2024Imad K. Harb

    It is hard to overemphasize the importance of Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau Yahya…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Israel/Palestine Stain on Biden’s Foreign Policy Legacy

    Every US president wants to leave office with a positive legacy. Some do so to draw attention away from a scandal; others hope that the history books will trea…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    War and Displacement in Sudan

    Oct 22, 2024Heba Gowayed

    In April 2023, violence broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum in a power struggle between Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), an…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza

    Demystifying How the Hamas Leadership Works

    Oct 18, 2024Hanna Alshaikh

    In light of the recent news of the death of Yahya Sinwar, Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Arab Center Washington DC is republishing this analytic piece by …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The New UK Labor Government and Palestine

    Oct 17, 2024Sara Husseini

    At first glance, the position of the United Kingdom’s (UK) new government toward Palestine appears to diverge little from US policy. But a closer look at the L…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Middle East Realities That Require an Escape Route 

    Oct 17, 2024Rami G. Khouri

    The past month may prove to be the most critical moment of geo-strategic transformation in the Middle East since the end of the Second World War—if not its mos…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Implications and Geopolitics

    Japan: Inching Toward Palestine?

    Oct 16, 2024Saul Takahashi

    In September, Taro Kono, Japan’s former foreign minister and a main contender for president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), announced that if he were to…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    One Year After October 7: Israel Descends into Endless War

    Oct 11, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Among the many moments described in the Washington Post’s recent article on the Biden administration’s failed efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, one stands…

  • From our Affiliates
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    GCC Responses to Israeli Aggression on Lebanon: Strategic Concerns and Regional Implications

    Oct 9, 2024The Unit for Political Studies

    The positions of the GCC countries toward Israel's war on Lebanon are appear divided. All share a deep concern about escalation and its potential impact on the…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    One Year After October 7: Assessments and Implications

    Experts analyze various aspects of the past year of Israel’s war on Gaza and now its campaign against Hezbollah and Lebanon.

  • Intern Corner
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Algeria’s Tebboune, Le Pouvoir, and the Challenges of Legitimacy

    Oct 3, 2024Nour Taha

    On September 7, Algerians headed to the polls for an early presidential election that revealed deep apathy and a potential risk to stability in Africa’s territ…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Decade On, Assessing Shared Responsibility for Yemen’s Tragedy

    Oct 3, 2024Afrah Nasser

    On September 21, 2014, Yemen’s capital Sanaa awoke to an unexpected turn of events that would reshape the country’s destiny. The Houthi armed group, officially…

  • Viewpoint
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Nasrallah’s Killing Prompts Serious Calculations

    Sep 30, 2024Nabeel A. Khoury

    Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has shocked many in Lebanon and the region regardless of what they thought of the man and hi…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanDemocracy and Governance

    Jordanian Elections in the Shadow of Domestic and Regional Tensions

    Sep 29, 2024Curtis Ryan

    As the Middle East edges closer to a broader war, both regional tensions and domestic politics have put the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan increasingly on edge. W…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Foreign Policy’s Impact on the November Presidential Election

    US presidential elections are usually decided on domestic issues, especially the economy. A candidate’s resting his or her presidential laurels on a foreign po…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The War Israel Wants but Hezbollah Rejects

    Sep 20, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The Israeli war on Hezbollah has just entered another deadly phase characterized by the sophisticated, but criminally minded, use of cyber warfare to detonate …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Gaza, the American Elections, and the Fallout of a Disaster

    Sep 19, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    The United States, sometimes considered the adult in the room when arbitrating international conflicts, has proved to be more of an adolescent when it came to …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelProtests and Activism

    US University Campuses Will Stifle Students’ Protests Next Year

    Sep 16, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    The student protests and the encampment movement that exploded on campuses toward the end of the 2024 school year pitted students (and faculty) protesting the …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza

    Discrediting the Living and Denying the Dead in Gaza: Justifying Indiscriminate Attacks on Civilians

    Sep 12, 2024Yara M. Asi

    In mid-August 2024, the world stood witness to one of the few personal tragedies from Gaza to make global headlines. Israeli airstrikes killed two 3-day-old tw…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Assessing GCC Perspectives on American-British Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

    Sep 11, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    Since last November, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, has been attacking commercial and merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and th…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenClimate and Environment

    Climate Change: A New Battlefield in Yemen’s Ongoing Conflict

    Sep 6, 2024Afrah Nasser

    Like the rest of the world, Yemen is facing the profound effects of climate change on sectors from agriculture and health to the broader economy and natural re…